Tenten's Rivalry
by ms. phishy
Summary: Tenten's life literally turns to hell overnight. If a serious injury and upcoming chuunin exams weren't enough to worry about, she must now come to terms with her 'youthfully raging hormones' ! LeeTen, ShikaIno, and others. CH 6 Up!
1. The Highest Form of Flattery

Tenten's Rivalry

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Life had once been easy for Tenten. She was an effortlessly talented kunoichi and had been put on a squad with the number-one rookie of her year (and long-time crush) Neji Hyuuga. As time went by, however, things became complicated. Tenten discovered for instance, that cool, aloof, and humorless were not adjectives she wanted in a potential boyfriend. That revelation, she could deal with. What she couldn't deal with, however, was a sudden, severe injury that threatened every dream she had. Or the sudden, involuntary crush on the unlikeliest person in the world.

Will Tenten manage to overcome these horrors unscathed? If so, she'd be the first teenager in the world!

Disclaimer: If I actually owned Naruto, episode 101 would have turned out MUCH differently!

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Chapter 1: The Highest Form of Flattery

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"Well, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to fight?" demanded Neji Hyuuga, pointing a kunai at his opponent.

His opponent smirked and also poised a kunai. With one delicate flick of the wrist, the weapon was loosed and Neji's fell uselessly to the ground.

"I wouldn't threaten with one of those if I were you," Tenten advised, replacing the kunai in her holster.

"Hm," was all Neji said. They faced each other for another moment or so, each trying to wear the other down. Of course, they'd fought so often, that tactic was all but useless. Neji sighed. "Couldn't you make the first move, Tenten? Just this once? It's not like my style is anything new to you."

Tenten's smirk didn't falter. "What, disarming you didn't count as a move? Are you trying to refrain from using your Byakugan? Want to give delicate little Tenten a handicap?" And, with that, she loosed another kunai--but this time caught him off guard.

Neji caught the knife inches from his throat.

He glared at her. "Byakugan!"

"That's more like it," she smirked, preparing to loose another weapon.

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Forty minutes later, both were bloody and beat up, though Tenten experienced the brunt of it. Sure, she had improved greatly over the two years she'd been on Team Gai. But, as Neji loved to point out, he had a cool bloodline trait, she didn't, and there was nothing she could do about it. This comment was usually followed by Tenten smacking Neji upside the head. The weird thing was, Tenten was lately replacing Lee as Neji's number-one rival--as if having just ONE of those wasn't bad enough.

"It's your fate, Neji," Tenten grinned as she dabbed iodine on a gash in his leg. "You're so damn cocky, you practically _demand_ rivalry!"

Neji's face puckered and went into full-on, death-glare mode, but he said nothing.

"There's nothing you can do about it. In fact, I'm going to be your rival, too. For all eternity!" She stood up and thrust her thumb high in the air. "And, starting tomorrow, we will finally fight to determine superiority!"

Neji snorted. "You going to get the spandex and the bowl hair-cut, too?"

Tenten sat back down. "What are you talking about?"

"You're beginning to scare me lately," he admitted. "All the random fights you pick with me, your excessive enthusiasm, the Gai-isms you're starting to use... If I didn't know better, I'd say you're starting to emulate Lee."

That shut Tenten up. In fact, it also drained all the color from her face.

"So, I'm right," Neji smirked. "You can't deny that you've changed. You haven't tried 'competing with me' until a month ago. You were actually normal when you joined this team."

Tenten looked at him, wondering vaguely if he had noticed her then. The only thing she had wanted (besides being a good kunoichi, of course) was for Neji to notice her. Of course, yearning hadn't gotten her anywhere.

Tenten turned away from him.

This seemed to affirm Neji's suspicion, because his smirk deepened. "Lee would be the first to tell you that imitation is the highest form of flattery."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said coolly.

"And you're about as nonchalant as he is," Neji remarked, taking the iodine and bandages from her and standing up. "I'll do this myself," he added with an languid wave. "I think you're enjoying yourself far too much."

Tenten scowled at his retreating form. "Cocky bastard, as always."

Sure, she only said that in jest, but, for the longest time, Neji had had a pillar all to himself--one that no other guy could even touch, let alone surpass. Now, she wondered what she had ever seen in someone as frosty as him. Finally, Tenten hauled herself up and headed home. There was no point sitting in the middle of the training field all bruised and beaten up when Neji had just run off with the iodine and bandages.

She knew well that he wouldn't wait up for her.

He never did.

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A/N: All right, if you haven't guessed already this is a **LeeTen** fic. If you did guess, you get a cookie!

-Andrea

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_As gently as he could, Lee lifted his teammate into his arms._

_"A torn 'something' doesn't prevent me from walking, Lee," Tenten said, crossly. _

_"But this is good training for me!" _

_"Are you saying I'm heavy?!" she roared._

Coming Soon--Chapter 2: You Look Terrible!


	2. You Look Terrible!

Chapter 2: You Look Terrible!

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Tenten surmised that she still looked like hell when she showed up for training the next day. She certainly felt like hell; she could hardly walk on her left leg after that fight and sleeping on it hadn't done squat.

Lee's eyes widened upon Tenten's arrival and he exclaimed, dramatically: "What happened to you, Tenten? You look terrible!"

Tenten sweatdropped. "Gee, thanks a bunch, Lee."

Sure, she was wearing more than the usual number of bandages, and her lip was a little swollen, but did Lee _really_ have to say that she looked terrible? 'Had he ever said anything like that to Sakura?' Tenten wondered. 'I doubt it!'

She remained surly for the better part of the morning and refused to speak to either of her teammates until Gai showed up. As always, he looked much too cheerful for his own good.

"Good morning, youthful pupils!" he bellowed.

"Good morning, Gai-sensei!" cried Lee.

"Today, we're going to learn about--" but he stopped, mid-sentence, and blinked at Tenten.

Tenten blinked back.

"What happened to you, Tenten? You look terrible!"

"ARGH!!"

----------------------

When sparring time came, Tenten opted for fighting Lee instead of Neji--despite the eternal rivalry she decreed only the day before. She actually had a system for choosing her sparring partner; she simply chose whichever teammate she was angrier at. Today, Lee won by a landslide. She hadn't forgiven him for his earlier comment, or for the fact he seemed to be taking pity on her and was not attacking _seriously_.

"What's your problem?" she shouted, hurling a shurikan at him with all her might.

Lee dodged it effortlessly, but still held back. Even worse, Tenten hadn't made a single hit. If there was one thing she hated more than being attacked half-heartedly, it was not hitting her intended target. So she began hurling weapons at Lee indiscriminately. One after another, kunai, shuriken, and throwing needles were flung--dozens at a time--each attack made in rapid succession, with no pause between the one before it. This time, he wasn't been able to avoid everything. But the attack still wasn't as effective as Tenten had hoped; only a few throwing needles got through.

'Damn!' she cursed to herself. 'He knows my technique inside and out. How infuriating! And he's gotten faster, too--much faster than Neji! There's only one thing I can do...' And a slow smirk spread across her face. 'Lee won't see this coming in a million years.' Tenten withdrew another shuriken, made as if to throw it, and then...

"Konoha Senpu!!" she shouted, leaping into the air and executing Lee's trademark move perfectly.

Lee could only gape before Tenten's kick struck his jaw--hard. He was flung several feet and landed roughly on his back. When he stood again, he was coughing out blood, but Tenten was still coming at him--so fast--_too_ fast. Before Lee could get his bearings, Tenten repeated the attack. This time, however, Lee not only avoided it, he struck back. In one smooth motion, he kicked her feet from underneath and sent her hurtling to the ground.

She got up with a grin. "That's it, Lee! No more holding back!"

Before Lee could continue in close range, Tenten withdrew the rest of her throwing needles. Above all, she knew that the only way she could win was to keep her distance; very few people could best Lee in close-range combat. Tenten loosed her needles five at a time with such deadly precision, even Lee's speed couldn't protect him. Like little knives, they tore through his clothes and drew blood. Lee had guts, though. He moved right through the hailstorm of needles, and began attacking at close range again--effectively stopping her assault.

Still, Tenten fought back with every ounce of her being; she felt around for another weapon and fended him off at the same time. But it was no good. All of her weapons lay scattered about the training field and Lee wasn't about to give her the opportunity to retrieve one. Nor would he pause enough for her to try a ninjutsu. He threw a swift kick to her jaw, but Tenten backflipped out of its way. She landed neatly on the balls of her feet in a squat. Ironically, that evasive maneuver--not Lee's kick--was what finished her. When she straightened her legs, there came the most sickening "snap!" and she was on the ground again--in a fetal position.

"Tenten!!" cried Lee, stopping his attack at once.

But Tenten's only reply was a strangled moan. The pain in her left calf was almost blinding, as if someone had just shot it with a gun, or sawed it in half. She clenched her teeth tightly to suppress her whimpers.

Lee knelt beside her. "What happened, Tenten? Are you alright?"

"Say I look terrible and I'll smash your face in!" she growled.

Lee gulped. "Of course not... Oh, some of your bandages are coming undone. I will fix them for you!" And he began bandaging his wounded comrade back up.

Tenten scowled. She still couldn't believe that she had lost the match on her own--with no help from her opponent. "Why did you go easy on me, Lee?" she asked suddenly. "You know I _hate_ that."

"Easy? I fought you with everything I had!"

"Yeah, but not until I actually landed a hit on you--"

"Which was awesome, by the way!" interjected Lee. "When did you learn the Konoha Senpu?"

"That's beside the point," said Tenten, still grimacing in pain. "You know... I hate when you and Neji hold back. I have to either provoke you guys or lash out to get you to fight me 'like you mean it'!"

Lee sighed and began working at another bandage. "Do you really think I would 'fight you like I meant it' after Neji beat you to a pulp the other day?"

Tenten glowered at him. That was worse than being told that she looked terrible. "He didn't _exactly_ beat me to a pulp. I got a few shots in, too!"

"Even so, you must not over-exert yourself," he said, sagely. "An injured body needs time to heal."

Tenten deemed that comment unworthy of a response and continued glowering at him.

Lee just smiled. "You know, you look cute like that, Tenten." Which earned him a solid smack upside the head. But he still had that infuriating smile. "Your bandages are all set, though you should probably change them when you get the chance. Are you sure you are okay? Here, let me help you." He stood up and offered her his hand, but Tenten pushed it roughly aside.

"I can get up on my own." When she tried, however, a blinding wave of pain shot through her leg and she fell down again.

"Tenten!!"

She clutched her injured appendage and grit her teeth hard, determined to let no moan of pain escaped her lips--that is, until Lee began touching her where it hurt.

"Lee, _what_ are you doing?" she cried, batting his hand away.

His expression relaxed a little. "Nothing seems broken, but you must have torn something. I had better get you to Tsunade-sama's." And, as gently as he could, Lee lifted his teammate into his arms.

"A torn 'something' doesn't prevent me from walking, Lee," said Tenten, crossly.

"But this is good training for me!"

"Are you saying I'm _heavy_?!" she roared.

-------------------------------

"What happened to you, Tenten? You look terrible!" was the first thing Sakura said upon meeting Tenten in the hospital.

Tenten was too weary to offer a retaliation. "Ask him," she muttered, pointing to the guy who was carrying her.

"Lee-san!" exclaimed Sakura, horrified. "What did you do to her?"

"N-nothing!" he protested. "We had a sparring match, but she did that on her own!"

Tenten glowered at the pair of them. 'Well, that was one way of putting it--a rather unflattering way...' Tenten decided that today wasn't her day. If tearing a muscle wasn't bad enough, Sakura was the third person to tell her how terrible she looked. 'What the hell did Sakura know? Tight-ass bitch.' That vicious thought formed so suddenly, even Tenten was alarmed; she had never borne ill feelings toward the medic-nin before. In fact, she and Sakura had become friends not too long after they met--well, after Sakura started being nicer to Lee.

"So, what happened?" asked Sakura, once they had taken Tenten to an examining room. Tenten was about to answer, but Lee beat her to the punch.

"Tenten had a rough match with Neji the day before," Lee began. "She said that her left calf began hurting after that. I think today must have been the last straw. You should have stayed home in bed," he finished, directing that last bit to his comrade.

"You're one to talk," muttered Tenten.

Sakura fixed the brunette with a stern scowl. "Don't pick up Lee-san's bad habits, Tenten." She reached out and examined the leg in question.

Tenten grit her teeth as Sakura reached her calf.

"Nothing's broken," said the medic-nin. "But it looks like you've torn your Achilles tendon..." Sakura felt the area a little more, exerting pressure at about mid-calf, before moving upward. This time, Tenten couldn't suppress the whimper of pain.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, Tenten. Your injury is most likely at the muscle-tendon junction between the Achilles and the Gastrocnemius muscle." Tenten offered her a blank stare. "The largest and outermost calf muscle," Sakura clarified. "It's no wonder you can hardly stand!"

Tenten's face fell, but she said nothing.

"Oh, Tenten," said Lee, empathetically. "Well, at least Sakura-san was able to see you so quickly!"

Sakura smiled and faint blush colored her cheeks.

Tenten glowered at them again. She was beginning to suspect that Lee had only used her injury as an excuse to visit Sakura. Of course, Lee's crush on Sakura was hardly old news, so Tenten couldn't explain why Lee's "true motives" annoyed her. Nor could she explain the resurgence of her animosity toward the medic-nin. Sakura was doing her a favor, after all.

"This sort of injury won't heal well on its own, Tenten," said Sakura, gravely. "You'll need physical therapy and possibly surgery, depending on the amount of damage. I'm sorry, but training will have to be off limits--except, I suppose, target practice and stuff like that."

Lee's jaw hit the ground. Tenten just sat in silence.

"But, Sakura-san!" he exclaimed. "Something similar happened to me and I was still able to train! Remember?"

"You mean your fight with 'Yagura'? Well, Lee-san, your legs were protected by your weights and your Achilles' tendon wasn't damaged. Tenten's is torn. She's in no condition to walk, let alone fight!"

At that reminder, Tenten gave a small sigh.

Lee turned to her, looking as though _he_ had just been told that he could no longer train. "Oh, Tenten, I am so sorry! If we had not fought, this never would have happened!"

"No, Lee. I was out for blood this morning. You tried to get me to be sensible, but I wouldn't take no for an answer." A bitter, sardonic smile formed on her lips.

"It may not be as bad as you think, Tenten," said Sakura encouragingly. "I don't actually make diagnoses. I'm just giving an opinion, on Tsunade-sama's behalf, and referring you to someone who can make a diagnosis. In your case, a physical therapist would do it, and outline an intervention plan. For all I know, you could be back on your feet in two months!"

Tenten's jaw hit the ground. "Two... _months_...?" If she hadn't felt devastated before, she did now. "One slip-up and I'm out of the game for... _two months_...?"

"Um... that's actually a conservative estimate," said Sakura awkwardly. "Most people take around... five or six months to get over... this sort of thing."

"..._five...or... six_...?"

Sakura sweatdropped. "...after surgery... and, uh... rehabilitation..."

Tenten fell off the examining table, big X's in her eyes. But Lee caught her before she hit the ground.

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A/N: Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for the next chapter!

-Andrea

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_Tenten woke in her own room at four in the morning. While that was not unusual for her (a consequence of being on Team Gai)--there was something abnormal about this particular situation--namely, a bushy-browed boy asleep in a chair next to her bed._

_"LEE!! What the hell are you doing in my room?!" she shrieked._

Coming Soon -- Chapter 3: A Rather Unwelcome Revelation


	3. A Rather Unwelcome Revelation

Chapter 3: A Rather Unwelcome Revelation

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Tenten woke in her own room at four in the morning. While that was not unusual for her (a consequence of being on Team Gai)--there was something abnormal about this particular situation--namely, a bushy-browed boy asleep in a chair next to her bed.

"LEE!! What the hell are you doing in my room?!"

He woke with a start. "Gah! Tenten? What--?"

"I asked first!"

Lee turned slightly pink. "Well, um, Tenten, remember what Sakura-san said? You will not be able to move on your own for a while. So how are you supposed to cook for yourself and all that?"

Tenten stared at him. "...So, you came over to my house and stayed up just to... take care of me?"

Lee sweatdropped nervously. "Um, yes? What _else_ do you think I would be doing at your house... in the middle of the night?"

"...Oh.." said Tenten, for lack of anything else to say. An awkward silence filled the room. "But, why?"

By this point, Lee seemed assured that Tenten would not eviscerate him after all. He smiled and went into full-on, nice-guy mode. "Because you are my teammate, Tenten!" he exclaimed. "A true ninja would never abandon an injured comrade!"

"Oh..." said Tenten again, dumbly. So that was it. They were teammates, comrades, fellow ninja. And that was all they'd ever be. Tenten suddenly gasped. Had she really just thought _that_? Did that mean that she had a crush on...?

'No way!' screamed "Inner Tenten" 'No freaking way!!'-- (yes, Tenten has one too, but it's not as vocal as Sakura's).

Tenten clutched her head and fell back into a horizontal position.

"Are you okay, Tenten?" asked Lee, nervously. "Is there something I could get you?"

Tenten groaned. She wished that, just for a moment, he'd stop being so damn nice. Maybe if he were more like Neji--but, no. Tenten couldn't picture that; not in a million years.

"...a glass of water would be good..." she said, just to get him out of her room. Lee was gone in a moment and Tenten was left alone to brood over her rather unwelcome revelation.

'But, how?' she thought miserably. 'How could I possibly have gone from Neji to Lee?'

'Because Neji's a pompous bastard!' Inner Tenten yelled.

'And, Lee,' a blush suddenly colored her face. 'Lee... is...'

"Back!" As if on cue, said Lee picked that moment to stroll back in with Tenten's water. "Here you go, Tenten!" he said cheerfully.

"Uh, thanks, Lee." Tenten wasn't really thirsty, but she took a sip anyway. It would have been weird, after all, to tell Lee to get her water and then tell him that she wasn't thirsty. "Um, you can go sleep on the couch if you want," she said, when she finished her water. "I wouldn't have an easy time sleeping in a straight-back chair."

"It is much too late to go back to sleep! At this rate, I'll be late for training!!" He glanced at the clock. "Oh, um, will you be okay on your own?"

Tenten blinked at him. "I'll be fine, Lee. Like you, I'm used to living on my own and taking care of myself."

"Well, here," said Lee, presenting her with the crutch he still occasionally had to use.

Tenten's eyes widened. "But that's your--"

"You will need to use the bathroom at some point, won't you?" he smiled. "And do not worry. I adjusted the height so it would fit you."

Tenten opened her mouth to say something else, but Lee continued: "Oh! And I made you stuff to eat while I am training. You just need to heat it up. And obviously stay off your feet as much as possible."

She gaped at him stupidly.

"Bye, Tenten! I will see you this evening!" he called, before running off at top speed--leaving a trail of smoke in his wake.

At length, Tenten managed to close her mouth and settled back into bed. "Well," she remarked to herself. "If that wasn't a random-as-hell morning, I don't know what is." She tried to fall back asleep--she turned this way and that--she tried every position possible. But it was no good. Every time Tenten closed her eyes, all she could see was a pair of big, bushy eyebrows.

"Damn it!" she swore, giving her pillow a good whack. That unfortunately conjured up her post-fight chat with Lee, how she'd smacked him upside the head... right after he said that she looked cute. Unbidden, a slow, breathy sigh escaped her lips.

"Damn it..." Tenten repeated, now clutching the pillow to her chest. "What am I going to do now?..."

------------------------------------------

At the training field, Neji looked his usual smug self. As Lee appeared, however (a full five minutes late!) Neji raised a delicately tapered eyebrow ever so slightly in what, on him, must have been an expression of shock. Gai, on the other hand, looked from his pupil to his watch, spluttering nonsense.

Tears streaming down his face, he bellowed, "why, my young pupil, why?"

"I can explain, Gai-sensei!" cried Lee, an identical waterfall of tears falling from each of his eyes as well.

Neji smirked. "Don't bother. Gai-sensei already knows why you're late. I told him _exactly_ where you were... _last night_."

----------------------------------------

On her way to work, Sakura spotted Ino and Hinata in the unofficial kunoichi cafe. This was where the four kunoichi genin tended to hang out, so Sakura wasn't surprised to see the two of them. She was annoyed though, that they got to have a leisurely breakfast, while she had to make due with a stale poptart. Sakura was about to continue on her merry way, but the sudden mention of Tenten made her stop.

"Hinata, wasn't Tenten supposed to meet us here?" asked Ino. "I mean, it's not everyday we all manage to give our senseis the slip!"

"Sakura couldn't," Hinata pointed out.

Ino scoffed. "What'd you expect from old billboard brow!"

A vein bulged on Sakura's forehead. She seriously wondered what possessed her to make up with her archrival.

"Seriously, though," Ino continued. "Do you think Tenten forgot or something?"

"I don't know..." murmured Hinata vaguely. She stared off into space a few moments.

"Yo, Hinata, what's up?" Ino waved a hand in front of her friend's face.

"It wouldn't surprise me..." said Hinata at length. "Maybe it's just me, but... Tenten's been acting weird lately."

"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen her in ages. Every time I've called her, she's been training or something." A wicked grin suddenly spread across the blonde's face. "You know what she's been doing all that time? Having a torrid affair with Neji!"

Hinata blanched. "I don't think so."

"Look, Hinata, just because he's your cousin, doesn't mean some other girl won't want to jump his bones!"

Sakura sweatdropped. Leave it to Ino to make the most perverted possible assumption.

"Um, I thought... you liked Sasuke," said Hinata.

Ino turned red. "I never said that _I_ wanted to jump his bones!"

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Hinata shrugged. "Tenten told me that... she doesn't like Neji anymore."

Ino's eyes bulged at this shocking new development. "Really? Who does she like now?"

"She wouldn't say."

A few moments of silence elapsed as both girls mulled over that new gossip.

"Well... on that note..." said Ino, grinning. She glanced surreptitiously around the cafe and whispered, "Sakura's got a new crush, too."

"R-really? Did she tell you?"

"No, but it's soooooo obvious. You'll never guess who!"

If Hinata found those two statements contradictory, she chose not to comment about it. She did, however, look a little anxious. "Um, it's not... not... Naruto, is it?"

"What? Naruto?!" Ino exclaimed. " No way! I said you'd never guess who, but Naruto? That's just random! I mean, _no one_ likes Naruto!"

Hinata breathed a little sigh of relief. "So... who is it then?"

Sakura gasped and strained hard to listen, every nerve in her body tingling. But it didn't matter anyway. Ino bent over and whispered the secret boy's name in Hinata's ear.

The shy girl gasped. "...Really? Sakura likes _him_?"

"I told you it was obvious, but that you'd never guess!"

--------------------------------------

When Gai managed to subdue his tears (which took a while) he fixed his star pupil with an uncharacteristically nondescript expression.

"G-Gai-sensei!" exclaimed Lee. "I can explain!"

But Gai held up a hand and indicated clearly that this conversation would actually be a lecture. He laid a fatherly hand upon his pupil's shoulder while Neji looked smugly on. If his evil plan succeeded, there would be much fewer hugs, crashing waves, and emotional outbursts.

Gai turned to his other pupil. "Well, Neji, since you're here too, this conversation also applies to you."

The Hyuga's face immediately fell--that is, the smug smirk became a slight frown. "But I didn't do anything!"

"But you have the potential to," said Gai. While Neji pouted, Gai fell strangely silent again, as though putting careful thought into his next words. Finally, he sighed and said, "I told you before, Lee, how we're a lot alike, right?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Gai sighed again. "You're dealing with difficult times, Lee. Being in the Springtime of your Youth isn't always as easy or idealistic as I make it out to be."

Lee gasped at that startling new revelation and scribbled furiously in his notebook.

"Yes, Lee--and Neji," said Gai. "I remember many a difficult time in my own boyhood reeling under the constant influx of testosterone. During that period, strange thoughts and... urges... made themselves known to me for the first time."

Lee stared at his sensei in awe. Neji, though, looked like he would soon lose the bowl of Shuriken-O's he'd had for breakfast.

"...Gai-sensei," he said. "You gave us this lecture three years ago..."

"I gave you the _modified_ version then," Gai corrected. "Because Tenten was with us." And, at the mention of his kunoichi pupil, Gai fixed Lee with another unfathomable look.

That was when something seemed to click in Lee's brain. "Um, Gai-sensei... you don't think that... Tenten and I... um... you know...?"

"Now, Lee!" bellowed Gai. "Having youthfully raging hormones is nothing to be ashamed of! But you simply must find another outlet for them! You and Tenten are far too young!" And he began sobbing passionately again at the thought of Tenten's curtailed girlhood. "If something were to happen to Tenten, she would have to--"

"Gai-sensei!" exclaimed a very red-faced Lee, interrupting his beloved sensei for, perhaps, the first time in his life.

Gai fell silent.

"Tenten was injured during our sparring match yesterday and I took her to the hospital. She fell asleep while I was taking her back home, so I stayed over to make sure she was okay."

Gai stared at his pupil.

"And that was it," Lee concluded, so there could be no doubt.

Tears of joy suddenly streamed down Gai's face at his pupil's innocence and youthful chivalry.

"Lee!" he cried.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!!"

"Gai-sensei!!"

Despite the fact that it was still early morning and Gai's training field was perfectly land locked, a sunset and crashing waves appeared as the teacher and student embraced.

Neji, on the other hand, sighed dejectedly. So much for his evil plan.

And Tenten, who had been in her room sleeping during this exchange, woke suddenly and sneezed.

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A/N: To address cherrybubblegum's remark, I don't actually _prefer_ NejiTen, per se. Well, maybe I did for a little while, but now LeeTen's my fav. If you like this so far, drop me a review! Thanks!

-Andrea

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_"Hey, Lee," said Tenten, as he came in. "How was training?"_

_"Um, fine," he replied, uncharacteristically terse. _

_Tenten looked at him. "Was Gai-sensei acting weirder than usual today?"_

_Lee looked uncomfortable. "Why do you ask?"_

_"Because, about twenty minutes ago, he randomly called me and started screaming something about 'youth' and 'hormones'..."_

_Lee sweatdropped. "Let's not talk about that."_

Coming Soon -- Chapter 4: Some Bad News

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	4. Some Bad News

Chapter 4: Some Bad News

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"Physical therapy?" Tenten moaned, not quite awake.

She glanced at her clock. It was 8:35 in the morning, she obviously didn't have training, but Sakura still HAD to wake her up.

"Yeah," said the medic-nin on the phone. "You need it to get better, remember? Oh, and your team came by a little while ago. I think Gai-sensei's _still_ interrogating Tsunade-sama. You've got an appointment with the physical therapist today at 12:30."

Tenten scowled. Physical therapy was all fine and good, but she wasn't really into being told when her appointments were. "How am I supposed to get there? You said yesterday that I couldn't move." And, again, Tenten was surprised by how rude she sounded. It was almost as if the words had come out of their own accord.

"Lee-san said that he'd pick you up," said Sakura.

"Really? Well, that's news to me."

"Well, when I told your team that the PT could see you today, he eagerly volunteered to go get you."

"Hmm..." murmured Tenten. She had mixed feelings about this as Lee had never liked physical therapy.

And one thing still remained unresolved. Lee had carried her back to her house yesterday, all sweaty from training, but... between that time and now, Tenten had yet to bathe. She sniffed her armpit and winced. Incapacitated or not, it was time for a shower. With the help of Lee's crutch, she managed to get to her feet without too much trouble. Taking the shower, however, was another matter entirely.

There came a loud 'boom!' from Tenten's bathroom, followed by an angry expletive. Apparently, the crutch in the shower wasn't a good idea, after all. She certainly looked the worse for wear when Lee finally arrived at her apartment around 12:15.

"What happened to you?" he asked, wide-eyed. "Did some rogue ninja sneak into your place and ambush you?"

Tenten sweatdropped. "No." There came a long, awkward pause. "...um... was Gai-sensei acting weirder than usual this morning, by any chance?"

Lee looked uncomfortable. "Why do you ask?"

"About twenty minutes ago, he randomly called me and started screaming something about 'youth' and 'hormones'..."

Lee sweatdropped. "Let's not talk about that."

That sounded good to Tenten. She fumbled with the crutch a bit and stood up again. "We're running late. I can sort of walk like this, but could you stay next to me so I don't fall?"

But Lee apparently had other ideas. Without preamble, he scooped her up and ran to the hospital at top speed.

Tenten was especially dismayed to see that, somewhere along the road, he had dropped his weights.

Yeah, it was official. Her free will was gone.

-------

They didn't make it to the hospital at 12:30. They made it by _12:20_--and Tenten had the distinct look of someone who'd just been thrown out of a tornado. Her bangs stuck up every which way and her buns were beyond disheveled.

Lee sweatdropped. "Um, well... at least we're early, Tenten."

"..."

"...Tenten?..."

--------

The Hokage, unfortunately, was going through similar exasperation with a bushy-browed man. She sipped at a cup of sake while praying that he would finally see the pointlessness of his argument and shut the hell up. Of course, Gai would sooner give up his rivalry with Kakashi than do THAT.

"Tsunade-sama!" he exclaimed passionately. "Lee has endured much worse injuries and was still able to train! Couldn't Tenten just train using her _other_ leg? She'd at least be able to do _half_ of what she used to! Besides, she doesn't really use her legs, anyway. She primarily uses throwing weapons, so there's no reason why..."

But Tsunade had tuned him out a long time ago. Their "discussion" on Tenten's status and training potential had been going on in that vein for roughly three hours. Speaking of veins, a large one on the Hokage's forehead looked about ready to explode.

"ENOUGH!!" Tsunade finally roared, spraying Gai's face with spit. "Tenten will NOT be training and that's FINAL!!"

"..."

--------

About five minutes later, most of team Gai (including a very-subdued-looking sensei) sat in the physical therapist's office. She seemed in no better temper than Tsunade and was casting particularly venomous looks at Gai and Lee. Lee took that moment of silence to assure her that his teammate was the one who was injured--not him.

"I'll be having a LONG talk with your sensei, anyway," said the PT, glaring at Gai. "I've seen members of _your_ squad more often than the rest put together. There's no reason why genin should be sustaining these kind of injuries." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you STILL showing them how to open the inner chakra gates?"

Gai sweatdropped, but was thankfully saved from answering by the arrival of Sakura and a few nursing assistants, carrying in the slightly-more-conscious Tenten. The LNAs laid her on the examining table and left.

The PT turned to the medic nin. "Have you got the x-rays?"

"Yes, Yasu-san," said Sakura, handing her a folder.

Tenten sat straight up, suddenly fully conscious. "X-rays?"

Lee seemed relieved that attention was diverted from his sensei. "When you passed out the other day, Tenten, Sakura-san thought that a good time to x-ray your leg."

"... Wait... what?..."

"Tsunade-sama would also like a copy of your evaluation, Yasu-san," said Sakura. And, as she left, she gave Lee a small smile.

Before Tenten could make sense of any of that (much less figure out where she was), Yasu, who'd been studying the x-rays, suddenly shrieked: "What the HELL did you do to your leg?!"

Tenten gave a sort of involuntary jump. "...Um... tore a... tendon...?"

"Tore? It's practically SEVERED from the muscle!" She gesticulated angrily at the x-ray. "What did you do?"

Everyone in the room cringed. Gai shrank a little bit.

"We were only training, Yasu-san," said Lee timidly. "... It is not Tenten's fault. She used some of my taijutsu techniques without really being conditioned for them and... um..."

Yasu gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Tenten. "I don't suppose you at least _stretched out_ beforehand?"

Tenten sweatdropped. "...Um..."

"ARGH!!"

After a very stern lecture to the ENTIRE team Gai, the males left the PT's office looking considerably less than cheerful. Unfortunately for Tenten, though, the evaluation was far from finished. She was seriously beginning to regret getting out of bed that morning--and she now understood why Lee had never liked rehab.

Tenten briefly studied the PT's expression, as though it would give her a prognosis. But it was no good. Yasu seemed absorbed in the report she was filling out and Tenten wisely decided not to disturb her.

Finally, Yasu put her clipboard down and turned to her patient. Her expression was grave.

"I'm sorry, Tenten, but I have some bad news."

-----------

The Team Gai men, meanwhile, remained where they had been sent: the rehab center's waiting room. What was odd, though, was the silence of the two spandex-clad members of the team. Gai was kind of slumped in his seat, and Lee looked almost comically serious, but fidgety; normally, at 1:45 on a Wednesday, he'd be happily training away. He was clearly unaccustomed to this sudden, forced confinement. Neji, however, appeared to be enjoying the rare moment of silence.

"Gai-sensei?" Lee finally said. "Do you think... that Tenten will be all right?"

Gai straightened up and gave a hearty laugh. "I don't doubt it, my youthful pupil! Tenten is among the toughest and most hardworking students I've ever trained!"

Lee smiled, apparently assured by this, while Neji marveled at the almost bipolar shift in his sensei's mood. But everyone fell silent again as Yasu opened her door and beckoned them back inside.

"We're all finished here," she said. "But Tenten must stay off her feet. Any more tension on that tendon could completely sever it from the muscle. Tsunade-sama also ordered an occupational therapy evaluation. Hiroko should be out to see you shortly." With that, Yasu helped Tenten to her to uninjured leg, and slid _two_ crutches under her arms. "Tenten should begin both physical and occupational therapy immediately. But Tsunade-sama will make the appropriate recommendations."

"Tenten," said Lee. "I could help you walk if--"

"No," interrupted Yasu. "Tenten needs to get used to moving this way. She must do as much on her own as possible."

Lee sighed, but didn't argue. Yasu had said the same thing to Gai when Lee had gone through rehab.

The PT then gave a the group a small, encouraging smile. "Don't look so downcast. Once your tendon is surgically reattached to the muscle and you've gone through rehab to strengthen it, you should be able train again. I'll see you soon for therapy."

Tenten murmured her thanks and hobbled unsteadily to the door. The rest of her team followed, anxiously. When they reached the waiting room, Lee took her crutches and Gai helped her sit. A heavy, somber silence filled the air--only to be immediately broken by Lee.

"See, Tenten!" he exclaimed with forced cheer. "That was not so bad! And you will like the occupational therapist, Hiroko-san. When I was injured, she helped me do all sorts of things that I lost the ability to do--like get dressed with just one arm and leg using adaptive equipment. She even helped me with the Konoha Senpu when I regained some motor function in my leg!" He paused contemplatively and added: "... though, in retrospect, that did not work out too well..."

"Wait," said Neji. "Your occupational therapist was a ninja?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Lee, as if Neji were woefully ignorant for not knowing that.

"All rehabilitative professionals in the ninja villages must be ninja themselves in order to practice," Gai explained. "Because most of their patients are injured nins, a lot of what they do involves reteaching basic ninja arts. Of course, they must have mastered these arts themselves in order to do that. All rehabilitative professionals must be at least chuunin."

"I think that PT might've been better off just being a nin," remarked Neji. "She reminds me of Tsunade-sama."

"That is true," Lee agreed. "But she is great at what she does." He looked over at Tenten, but she remained as solemn and silent as ever. "Hiroko-san is an excellent occupational therapist," he assured her, as if that was what she was worrying about. "And she is much less intimidating than Yasu-san."

Tenten sighed. "That's not it."

"Tenten!" Gai suddenly exclaimed, standing up and thrusting his fist in the air. "Such a solemn mood is unfitting for a vivacious kunoichi like you! You don't need to worry. Like Lee, your lotus of vitality will bloom beautifully again!!"

Tenten shook her head. "You guys don't get it."

"But, Tenten, who could understand better than me?" said Lee.

"No!" she persisted. "Yasu-san said that I probably wouldn't be able to train for six months or more!"

"Tenten--" Lee started.

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed. "Don't you know when the next chuunin exams are?"

A sudden silence fell over the group. Neji and Lee looked at each other for a moment, and then their injured teammate.

"So you know," murmured Tenten, burying her face in her hands. "You know that, because of me, _none_ of us will be able to take the exams."

----------

A/N: I don't have a chapter preview up this time, 'cause I didn't start the next chapter yet, and it might not be up for a few weeks. Gotta love the mid-term crunch ;-). As always, any comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism are appreciated!

-Andrea

----------

A note on names:

Yasu means tranquil

Hiroko means generous


	5. Live With Me

Chapter 5: Live With Me

-------------

Lee still seemed to be pondering what Tenten had said when he and Neji left the hospital. Because Tenten was scheduled for another evaluation, Gai had elected to stay and he sent off the other two to resume their training. But Neji, being the shrewd observer he was, could see that Lee was clearly in no mood for that. His expression was flat and he hadn't said a word since they left the hospital. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have bothered Neji in the least. In fact, he would have found it quite relaxing. But the way Lee carried himself -- with shoulders slumped and almost dragging his feet -- was enough to stir a flicker of pity in even in the Hyuuga.

"Lee..." began Neji awkwardly, though he trailed off when he realized he didn't know what to say.

He wanted to say something insightful. Something from which Lee could draw both comfort and wisdom. Unfortunately, while Neji was quite adept at demoralizing people to the point of contemplating suicide, he had little practice in the art of cheering up.

Lee turned to him. "Yes?"

"These things... happen," said Neji, finally. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

Lee sighed and focused his attention back to the street. Neji sighed, too. That clearly hadn't worked. He decided to change tact.

"How about a spar?"

Lee shrugged. "Okay."

There was another long moment of silence as the two made their way to the training fields.

"I had no idea," Lee suddenly murmured.

"Hm? What's that?"

"I had no idea Tenten's injury was that bad." Lee sighed. "With a severed Achilles' tendon, she cannot walk, let alone train. Even after surgery, Tenten will probably not be at her previous level." Lee paused for a while before adding, "I am still not."

Neji stared at him. Lee had never made an admission like that before. He had always been Mr. Optimism, Mr. I-can-still-be-a-great-ninja-even-though-I-don't-have-ninjutsu-or-genjutsu. Sure, Neji found that annoying most of the time. But the sudden absence of Lee's optimism felt almost like a dark cloud of despair enveloping the entire team.

"Lee..." Neji began again, but still found himself at a loss.

Lee turned to him, his expression unreadable. Like Tenten's had been when she had told them that they were out of the chuunin exams. Then, it suddenly made sense. Neji realized that Lee's false cheer with Tenten at the hospital had been just that: false cheer for her benefit. Now that they were out of the hospital, Lee didn't need to put up a front anymore.

"Neji?" Lee prompted. They had been staring at each other for a while now.

Neji shook his head. "Sorry. It's nothing."

---------

Another boy was already at the training fields, though unlike Lee and Neji, he was there quite against his will.

"The chuunin exams," sighed an unhappy Shikamaru Nara. He gazed longingly at the clouds. "How troublesome."

"Idiot!" came an angry exclamation. His teammate Ino Yamanaka suddenly appeared out of nowhere and smacked him hard upside the head.

"Damn it, Ino, what was that for?" grumbled the lazy-nin.

"For being an idiot! What are you complaining about anyway? You're already a chuunin! It's not as if YOU need to exert yourself."

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, as long as you and Chouji are STILL genin, Asuma-sensei will be riding my ass to train with you guys, _all day_, _everyday_, until the stupid exams are over..." Another desolate sigh. "And then, come next exam, he'll make me do it_ all over again_..."

Shikamaru, unfortunately, didn't notice his female teammate turning redder and redder.

"All I can say," he continued, "is that you two better pass THIS time."

An inhuman shriek suddenly erupted from the clearing and poor Shikamaru found himself on his lazy ass. Again.

"So troublesome..." he muttered, rubbing his jaw.

"I don't know how I put up with you! Day in and day out!!" Ino fumed. "Now, if I had a more helpful teammate like, say, _Sasuke_, I KNOW I would have been a chuunin by now!"

"Way to blame other people for your problems," Shikamaru muttered, but, thankfully, not loud enough for Ino to hear. He wisely also chose to leave unmentioned the fact that Sasuke was currently AWOL.

Ino might have started ranting about something else, but her attention was focused on two figures that had just entered the clearing.

"Oh, it's Neji and Lee," she said, her rage apparently forgotten. She turned back to her lazy teammate, only to find that he was gazing at the clouds again. A vein bulged in her forehead. "Hey! Shikamaru!! Why can't you be like them? They train all the time!"

He scowled. "What's your problem, Ino? Chouji and Asuma-sensei aren't even here yet." With that, Shikamaru lay back down and closed his eyes.

"Fine!" Ino snapped. "Maybe I'll just train with _Tenten's_ group instead."

Shikamaru's eyes opened briefly and he sat up to ponder this statement, an unreadable expression on his face. Then, he grinned and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny? I was serious!"

"Do you even _know_ Tenten's group?" he queried.

Ino turned red. "Well, I know Tenten! And she says that all they do when they're not on missions is train. Day in and day out."

"Fine," Shikamaru grinned. "Go for it."

"Fine, I will." But, instead of chasing after Neji and Lee, she folded her arms across her chest and pouted.

"They're getting away, you know," Shikamaru pointed out. He had apparently taken quite a vested interest in Ino's threat.

"Don't you have some clouds to watch?" she snapped, stomping angrily away.

Ino sneaked a look behind her and found Shikamaru still watching her--perhaps making sure she made good on her threat.

"Fine, Shikamaru," she muttered and changed direction to follow Team Gai.

All in all, she felt like a supreme dumbass. Shikamaru was right, of course, when he questioned her familiarity with Team Gai. She was friends with Tenten because being among Konoha's few genin kunoichi had that kind of bonding effect on them. But Neji and Lee? The longest conversation Ino could recall with them was when she'd tried "seducing" Neji in the forest of death. The memory _still_ made her cringe in shame. She glanced at Shikamaru again and saw that he was grinning at her.

"Bastard probably planned this," muttered Ino, finally catching up with Tenten's teammates. Of course, she HAD to do it now. She might make an idiot of herself, but Shikamaru would never let her live it down if she didn't follow though. Ino cleared her throat. "Um, Neji, Lee?"

They stopped and turned to her. Ino was especially dismayed to find that she had no idea what to say. Should she just randomly ask to train with them?

'Damn,' she thought miserably. 'I wish Tenten were here. She'd help me out!' Then, it struck her: where _was_ Tenten?

"Hey, what happened to Tenten? Don't you guys always train together?"

"Are you looking for her?" asked Neji.

Ino nodded, relieved to end their staring contest. But she was confused by the significant look that Neji and Lee exchanged. Oh, no! Could that mean...?

"Did something happen to Tenten?" she blurted out.

"She's in the hospital," murmured Lee, eyes downcast.

"THE HOSPITAL?!"

"Relax," said Neji, looking mildly surprised. "It's nothing life-threatening."

"Let's go see her," said Ino, turning in the direction of the hospital. But she stopped when she noticed that Tenten's teammates hadn't moved. They apparently weren't as accustomed to getting bossed around as Chouji and Shikamaru were. "Aren't you guys coming? She's your teammate."

"We were just there," said Neji. "And Tenten's only being evaluated."

"Actually, that is not a bad idea," said Lee. "Evaluations usually only tell you what you are no longer capable of doing and that is depressing for anyone. Tenten could probably use the company."

Neji made a small murmur of assent and the two turned back to the hospital, leaving Ino looking extremely confused.

"What kind of evaluations? You guys_ still_ didn't tell me what happened." But Lee and Neji had already left. "Hey, wait up!"

----------

Lee's observation about evaluations was apparently accurate. Though Hiroko the OT was certainly less intimidating than the PT, Tenten felt infinitely more discouraged. Hiroko had spent the better part of the hour evaluating her functional capacity. And nearly every area of Tenten's life had been affected by her injury. Cooking would be difficult, getting dressed, horrendous--and going to the bathroom? Tenten didn't even want to go there. But, the fact was, all those things required either standing and/or shifting body weight. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the evaluation seemed to be drawing to a close. At least, the OT was putting all of her weird equipment away.

"So, Tenten," said Hiroko when she seated herself again. "How would you describe your current living situation?"

'What the hell kind of random question is that?' Tenten thought. 'Does she think I'm homeless or something?'

"Tenten?"

"Sorry, my living situation?"

Hiroko nodded.

"Well, as I've said before, I live on my own in an apartment. Though I don't know how I'll be able to pay the rent if I can't go on missions."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Hiroko, waving a hand. "That's surprisingly common and there's a fund in Konoha for injured nins who are temporarily inactive."

"Oh... yeah, Lee said something about that," Tenten recalled. "But, why is my living situation relevant?"

"Well, when you can't climb stairs, it makes a big difference whether you're living in the ground floor of an apartment, or the penthouse," explained Hiroko.

At this, Tenten seemed to visibly deflate.

"Are you all right, Tenten?"

"I live on the fourth floor." she muttered.

"Is there a--?"

"No elevator."

Hiroko tapped her chin. "And there are no relatives you could stay with?"

Now _that_, Tenten thought, was a dumb question. If she really had relatives, wouldn't she also have a last name?

"No," said Tenten, trying not to roll her eyes. "I don't know of any relatives."

"Hm," murmured Hiroko. "Perhaps your sensei could help us reach a solution? He was a big help when your teammate went through rehab."

Tenten shrugged. "I guess."

---------

Ino frowned as she tried to keep pace with Lee and Neji. Lee was apparently under the impression that his female comrade needed immediate consoling because he was sprinting full-pelt toward the hospital. Even Neji couldn't keep up with Lee when he was _really_ running. So he and Ino sort of jogged behind. Ino tried again (unsuccessfully) to find out what had happened to Tenten, but Neji was about as close-mouthed as a person could get. She quickly came to the conclusion that ALL male teammates were pains in the ass--whether they were her teammates or not. When they reached the hospital (in very little time), Ino leaned against the door frame and clutched at a horrible stitch in her side--only to find that she'd been left in Lee's dust. Again.

A vein bulged in her forehead. "Wait. For. Me!!"

---------

"So, that's the situation," said Hiroko, having explained the entire "living-situation problem" to Gai.

'As if I couldn't do that myself,' thought Tenten angrily. 'What a know-it-all bitch that woman is!'

And, again, she was amazed at the weird swings her moods seemed to be taking lately--in denial one moment, then desolate, then flat, then enraged? It was all just too damn weird and too damn... not like her. After all, Lee was the sensitive one, the one who experienced and expressed emotion to an almost comical degree. And then there was Neji who never seemed to process emotion. Tenten thought of herself as a sort of middle ground between the two: someone who experienced emotion, but dealt with it rationally.

'Yes, rationally, rationally,' Tenten chanted to herself like a mantra. 'I will be calm and rational... as everyone I know ruins my life...'

"Tenten? Tenten?"

"What?"

She surfaced from her reverie to find that she had the undivided attention of both the OT and her sensei. She laughed nervously, as she often did when embarassed--though laughing was the last thing she felt like doing.

"You've been awfully spacey during this evaluation, Tenten," said Hiroko. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Now that, Tenten decided, was the dumbest-ass question of all. Sure, she was seriously injured, couldn't participate in the chuunin exams, AND had to move out of her apartment. But she was fine. Just fine, thank you!

Tenten managed a strained smile. "I'm fine."

"Then, what do you think about Gai-san's suggestion?"

"Um... sure, sounds good."

Gai flashed his blinding smile. "Excellent, Tenten! I'm sure you and my sister will get along splendidly!!"

Tenten did a double take. "Wait. What?"

"Didn't you just agree to it?" Hiroko asked.

Tenten shook her head, partly to say no, and partly because everything was happening so fast, her head was about ready to explode! The whole situation didn't seem real to her.

"Could you... run all that by me again?"

Gai gave her a sympathetic smile. "I was actually talking to my sister about this the other day, Tenten. She had offered to take Lee in while he was going through rehab. He also lived in an upper-floor apartment and had to move. Mai told me that she would happily extend the same invitation to you."

Tenten smiled, touched by her sensei's kindness, but... "Doesn't your sister live outside the village?"

"Not far," Gai assured her. "Just in the outskirts, really. It won't affect your status as a ninja here, or your ability to receive therapy."

"Oh."

'But it will affect everything else,' Tenten thought miserably. Mai would certainly take her for therapy and checkups but... 'What about my training? What about my friends? Will they forget about me? What about...?'

However, Tenten's wildly careening thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

Hiroko stood up. "I'm with a client right now. I'll be out shortly."

"Please excuse me," came a _very_ familiar voice. "I could not help but overhear. May I make a suggestion?"

Tenten blinked. "Lee?"

Gai crossed the room and opened the door. "Lee, I thought I told you and Neji to resume your training."

"Forgive me, sensei!" exclaimed Lee. "But we thought that Tenten could use some team support."

Of course, with that logic, Gai couldn't stay angry at Lee for too long. And, though Tenten would never admit it, that simple gesture meant a lot to her.

She managed a small smile. "You're just using this as an excuse to blow off training, Lee."

Hiroko smiled too. "How are you doing, Lee? Not over-exerting yourself, I hope."

"Not... too much," he said, looking uncomfortable.

Tenten snorted. "Then you're lying through your teeth!"

"I thought _you_ were the patient here, Tenten." He folded his arms across his chest and pouted slightly.

And Tenten couldn't help but laugh. An indignant, sulky Lee was a comical sight, indeed.

"So, Lee," said Hiroko. "You said you had a suggestion?"

"Yes," he said. "Tenten could... live with me."

---------

A/N: Ah, the plot thickens! Sorry for the slower-than-usual update. School's been uber busy, and oneshots kept calling me! Well... no... they didn't really... Never mind ;. You might notice that I've added ShikaIno to the little story summary. I just couldn't resist; I love them _almost_ as much as LeeTen! I'll add the other pairings, too... when I finally decide on them. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!

-Andrea

----------


	6. Chuunin Together

Chapter 6: Chuunin Together

---------

"Oh, come on Sakura-chan! Please!"

"No!"

"Aww, can't you just hear me out?"

"No!"

"But, Sakura-chan--"

"NO!!"

"BE QUIET!!" yelled a random lady, appearing suddenly out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly.

Naruto folded his arms across his chest and pouted. Sakura, on the other hand, sighed and pulled the book she had been reading back to her face. It was her day off and all she wanted was to relax in the library. Of course, she should have known by now that ignoring Naruto was about as effective as trying to douse a fire with gasoline.

"Please, Sakura-chan!" he whined, getting big chibi eyes. "I've just _got_ to have one more chance!"

"Shut up!" she hissed. "I'm NOT going into the chuunin exams with you and that's final! I'm too busy and it's not like we'd qualify anyway, with just the two of us."

This statement was enough to silence the annoying fox boy and Sakura took the opportunity to resume her reading.

"Hmmm," said Naruto, his face scrunching up into thinking mode. "OH! I know! We could find someone _else_ to take the chuunin exams with us!!"

Sakura snorted. "What? Grab some random person off the street? For the last time, Naruto, the answer is no!"

"SHUT UP!!" the librarian roared. "Or I'll kick you both out!"

Sakura glared at her teammate, but her expression softened at the pathetic look on his face.

"Look, Naruto," she sighed. "I'm sorry, but I really am too busy. Why don't you go ask Lee-san's team."

Naruto blinked. "Fuzzy Brows' team? But, Sakura-chan, they've already got three people!"

"Not anymore."

"Eh?"

"You haven't heard about Tenten?"

"About...?"

"Yeah, she'll be out of commission for a while."

Naruto looked upset for a moment, but then a huge grin spread across his face.

"Fuzzy Brows' team! YES!" he cried, before being chased out by the angry librarian.

Sakura sighed and returned to her book.

---------

The hospital, meanwhile, was considerably quieter than the library. So quiet, cricket chirping could be heard in the background. Tenten was about as red as a tomato and Gai was rendered speechless for the second time in his life. The first had been when he'd suspected Lee and Tenten of engaging in certain _unyouthful_ activities...

Tenten's thoughts were all a blur at that moment, but the predominant one was: 'did Lee just say _that_?'

Neji and Ino had finally caught up with Lee and were now standing, mouths agape, in the doorway of Hiroko's office. But, the silence didn't last long.

"Oh my God!!" Ino shrieked for the entire hospital to hear. "Tenten and Lee are shacking up!" And, before anyone could say anything, the blonde fled from the room--undoubtedly to tell Hinata that Tenten had been having a torrid affair with _Lee_ this whole time!

"Oh my God!" said Tenten, but in quite a different tone of voice. She turned even redder and buried her face in her hands.

Lee, by contrast, turned albino, and like Gai, was robbed of the power of speech

"...Did I... just say... _that_?" he croaked when he finally regained his voice.

"Yeah, you did," said Neji, the tiniest smirk forming on his lips.

"Lee," said Gai, having also regained the use of his voice. "While I commend your altruistic intentions, I don't think this situation would be appropriate. As I told you before, you and Tenten are starting to reach that age where--"

"Gai-sensei!!" cried the now crimson-faced Lee. "That's not what I meant!"

Tenten uncovered her face at that point, relieved, but at the same time, vaguely... disappointed.

"T-Tenten!" Lee spluttered, reddening further under her gaze. "I-I never meant... what I meant to say was... um..."

Neji sighed. "Lee, you look like my cousin. Whatever you meant to say, just say it."

"I mean..." said Lee, looking away from Tenten. "When I was injured in the preliminaries, I moved to the ground floor of my building, and the apartment down the hall from me is for rent. So..."

There was a few-second pause, and then everyone in the room went: "Ohhhhhh..."

Gai was in raptures. "What a splendid idea, Lee! Tenten will be on the ground floor and have you close by to look after her! Wonderful!"

Hiroko was equally enthusiastic. "Yes, it's perfect! Tenten will be closer to the hospital and Lee could help her with her daily activities!"

'Or lack thereof...' thought Tenten, bitterly. While this was a better living arrangement than moving out of the village, no one had bothered asking her opinion on it.

"I don't know..." said Neji ominously, looking from one crimson-faced teammate to the other. "I get the impression that... bad things could come from this..."

There was a few moments of silence while everyone pondered that cryptic statement, then...

"Nonsense, Neji!" bellowed Gai. "There's no reason why this wouldn't work!"

Tenten sighed as Neji began explaining exactly why it wouldn't work, Gai said something in reply, and Hiroko gave her professional opinion... blah, blah, blah... And soon, the noise level in the tiny office reached a deafening level.

Tenten covered her ears, so distracted by the noise, she didn't notice that Lee was suddenly next to her. It was really uncanny how he could be someplace one second, then somewhere else entirely the next. Tenten felt her face heat up at the sudden closeness.

"What, Lee?" she said, turning away.

Lee sat next to her. "How are you doing with all of this, Tenten?" he asked. "You haven't said much."

"Well, I... um..." But the rest of her sentence trailed away into nothingness and Tenten found that quite annoying.

Number one: she was rarely shy or at a loss for words. Number two: this was _Lee_. Not Sasuke. Not Neji. Lee. As in the closest thing possible to Gai-sensei without actually being Gai-sensei. At that thought, Tenten wrinkled her nose and made a face.

"Tenten?"

Well, that thought took care of her Hinata moment. "Never mind, Lee."

Suddenly, without so much as a knock, Tsunade came in.

"What's going on in here?" she yelled over all the noise.

The room fell silent.

"Tsunade-sama," said Hiroko. "I haven't finished the evaluation yet."

"I just wanted to catch you guys before you left," said Tsunade. "Because I just so happen to have an opening _today_ for the surgery."

Tenten blinked. "... Surgery?"

"That injury warrants immediate attention," Tsunade continued. "So, Tenten, what do you think of today?"

Tenten's chest tightened. "...Surgery? ...Today?"

Tsunade nodded. "Sometimes, Achilles' tendon ruptures can heal fine on their own, but yours is practically severed from the muscle. If it isn't surgically reattached, you probably won't be able to fight again."

That got Tenten's attention. "But, right now?"

"The sooner the better," said Tsunade. "Once you've had the surgery, you'll just need to take it easy for a few days and then you'll be able to start rehab."

Tenten still looked hesitant.

Tsunade smiled. "But, we could still wait a few weeks if you want. Of course, you won't really be able to walk during that time. And there will be another few weeks of recovery time..."

That did it.

"Fine, let's do it today," mumbled Tenten, feeling sick. It was a little-known fact that she not only hated hospitals, she was petrified of any form of surgery.

"Good," said Tsunade. "Then I'll see you in an hour."

--------

Naruto, meanwhile, was still shouting jubilantly as he ran through Konoha. He had never imagined that his problem would have such an easy solution. Ever since stupid Sasuke-bastard had run off with the Michael Jackson of Konoha, Naruto wasn't sure what to do about the chuunin exams.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't compete with just Sakura, but Kakashi had made vague comments about possibly getting another team member.

Naruto had vehemently protested the suggestion at first, but he had second thoughts as the exams approached. Kakashi, however, made no more mention of another teammate, and Sakura always seemed to be too busy to train with him.

But, perhaps Naruto was a little _too_ excited about this turn of events. After all, his chance to enter the chuunin exams with Team Gai had come at the expense of Tenten. Still, it wasn't as if she'd compete anyway, right?

Naruto eagerly made is way to Team Gai's training area, positively beside himself with glee. He was disappointed, though, to find the area completely devoid of said team members.

'That's weird,' he thought. 'Where _else_ would Fuzzy Brows be on a training day?' Naruto sat down for a while and thought... and thought... and thought... Then...

"Aha!" Naruto suddenly shouted, startling all the wildlife within a twenty-mile radius. "Fuzzy Brows is at his dojo!!"

And, with that, he took off again.

--------

But, said Fuzzy Brows wasn't at his dojo at all. He was at the hospital--the waiting room of the orthopedic surgery unit, to be exact.

Neji had gone home to attend a "family meeting." The subject of discussion? How old a branch-family child should be before they're given the curse mark. Of course, Neji wanted to have some say in that.

And Gai was currently pestering Tsunade about the surgery. How long would it take? How many recovery days were necessary? And how much therapy would be needed afterward? Yes, he was certainly nervous about one of his students going under the knife, but not more than Tenten herself.

She wouldn't admit that to Lee, but the signs of her anxiety were fairly obvious. She was breathing hard, squirming in her chair, and wringing her hands together.

"Are you okay, Tenten?" asked Lee, rather unnecessarily.

She gasped, so absorbed in her own nervousness, she had forgotten he was there.

"I'm fine!"

Lee took one of her hands, just to stop her from wringing them together. "Your hand's all cold and clammy," he observed.

"I'm fine," Tenten repeated, taking her hand back and crossing her arms.

"It's okay, Tenten. I was nervous when I had my surgery, too."

"Well, I would hope so, Lee," said Tenten peevishly. "You had a fifty percent chance of dying."

"It's natural to be nervous, since you've never had a surgery before," he said. "But, you're doing it for your nindo, so it's the right thing to do!"

"My nindo..." Tenten murmured absently.

She remembered the last time she had heard those words.

It had been the day that Lee was having his surgery, in this very unit, in fact. Tenten had been positively beside herself with anxiety, because she knew that he had hardly more than a fifty-percent chance of living.

Practically a coin toss.

And she'd felt guilty, too, about all those times she could've visited him, but that she'd spent training with Neji instead.

As she stepped into the waiting room, the excuses she'd made--that Neji needed to train, that she hated hospitals, and that she could always visit Lee tomorrow--all flew out the window. She hadn't been sure, then, if there would be a tomorrow for Lee. And he obviously wasn't sure either.

Nonetheless, he'd smiled when she came in and said, "hey, Tenten, it's good to see you."

Her stomach twisted into another guilty knot, but she managed to smile back.

"Good to see you too, Lee. How are you doing?"

"Oh, fine."

Tenten sat down next to him. "Seriously?"

Lee shrugged. "Well, about as fine as I can be, I guess, given the circumstances."

"Lee, you don't have to do this."

He stared at her. "What?"

"There are other things you could do. You don't have to be a ninja."

Lee sighed. "But, Tenten, would you be able to go on living if someone took your weapons away?"

Tenten looked away from him.

"I don't want to go through with it, either," he admitted. "But, I know that it's the right thing to do."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it's for my nindo!"

Tenten sweatdropped. Lee had come up with some corny lines before, but this one took the cake.

At that moment, Tsunade had stepped in. "I'm ready for you now, Lee."

Lee got unsteadily to his feet, but was prevented from going any further by Tenten taking his hand.

"Tenten?"

"Just don't die, Lee," she said. "We have to become chuunin together."

He smiled. "We will."

But, they wouldn't if Lee remained injured, and he wouldn't become _uninjured _if Tenten held him back. So, she let her teammate go, and watched as Tsunade led him to the surgical ward.

Then, Tenten went home and cried.

She regarded that day, which she spent wondering whether Lee would live or not, as one of the worst days of her life.

"Hey, Tenten. Tenten!" said Lee, bringing her out of her reverie.

Tenten shook her head. "What?"

"Tsunade-sama's waiting. Couldn't you hear her calling you?"

Sure enough, there was the Hokage, waiting expectantly.

"Oh... um..." said Tenten, blushing.

Tsunade smiled. "Daydreaming, Tenten?"

"No," she scowled, getting unsteadily to her feet.

"Don't worry Tenten, we'll still become chuunin together!" exclaimed Lee. "And, I'll treat you to some Chinese food and sesame dumplings when you get out."

"Oh, Chinese food and dumplings!" cried Tenten, eyes sparkling. "YES!"

Suddenly, the prospect of having her leg opened didn't seem so bad anymore.

--------

Naruto, on the other hand, was the very opposite of happy. He had made the long and rather difficult journey to Lee's dojo, only to find it completely devoid of Lee.

Naruto paced around and let out a growl reminiscent of his inner demon.

"Fuzzy Brows!" he yelled. "Where the hell are you?"

--------

A/N: Sorry for the slow update. I blame end-of-semester stress and the untimely demise of my laptop. But, my parents helped me buy a new one, so it's all good. Yeah, I know some of you were hoping they'd shack up, but they are still in their early teens. There are other reasons, too, which will probably be apparent in later chapters. Anyways... thanks for reading. ;-)

-Andrea


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